Credibility crisis over Fayose/Aluko ‘reconciliation’

The last may not have been heard on the matter between Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and his erstwhile ally and confidant, Dr. Temitope Aluko. Nigerians were shocked to see the duo together on television on Monday, after their purported reconciliation, where the latter reportedly pleaded for forgiveness. Less than 24 hours later, Aluko recanted, saying the media appearance was stage-managed to give the impression that his disagreement with Fayose was over. Correspondent ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the latest drama in the Fayose/Aluko saga and its implications.

Two months after he made a startling revelation about how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) used the military to rig the June 21, 2014 governorship election that brought Governor Ayodele Fayose in for a second term in Ekiti State, Dr. Temitope Aluko shocked Nigerians with Monday’s purported reconciliation with the man he vilified, pilloried and attacked as a felon.

Not a few Nigerians were surprised that Aluko, former Secretary of the PDP in Ekiti, could make such a 360 degree turnaround. The general feeling was one of shock and disbelief, when the news went viral on the internet that the former university lecturer had gone crawling back to Fayose. Like his earth-shaking exposé on the alleged rigging, a bemused nation received Aluko’s reported return to Fayose “under the cover of darkness” with glee and contempt.

Aluko’s outburst live on national television had been generally regarded as the confession of a penitent heart. After carrying out some investigations, the army had retired some of its officers implicated in the sage. It was also on the strength of Aluko’s revelations that some Ekiti State Government officials, including the Commissioner for Finance, Toyin Ojo; House of Assembly member Afolabi Akanni and former Special Adviser on Revenue Matters, Ropo Ogunjobi, were arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to sources, the infamous Ekiti election drama was facilitated by the former factional Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dele Olugbemi. Both Fayose and Aluko were said to have “settled their differences” at the posh Eko Hotel in Lagos and subsequently spoke to reporters after holding the closed-door meeting. A video recording of the Lagos reconciliation meeting made the rounds on social media on Monday, showing both Fayose and Aluko addressing reporters, with the latter saying he is back to the political family he deserted few months ago.

But, just as the Nigerian public was beginning to digest the import of the ‘reconciliation’, Aluko, in response to a press statement attributed to Fayose’s Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, made another u-turn, claiming that the so-called reconciliation was stage-managed by the Fayose camp.

Aluko said: “I did not collect any money from Fayose, I was invited to a meeting by well-meaning Nigerians and I felt it was imperative to honour such a meeting, but I was surprised to see reporters around.

“I did not beg Fayose. he approached me and it was out of courtesy that I honoured Ekiti leaders who wanted peace to reign in Ekiti, contrary to the lies being spread by the mouthpiece of Ekiti State Governor, Lere Olayinka, that the former scribe of Ekiti PDP, Dr. Temitope Aluko has requested for the forgiveness of Governor Ayo Fayose for his past misdeeds.

“Dr Tope Aluko has come forward in strong terms to rubbish the hypocrisy of Lere Olayinka with his distortion of facts about the reconciliation process describing the spread of lies about his ‘repentance’ over his controversial position on Ekitigate as calculated.

“He condemned Governor Ayo Fayose and his paid agents as cowards who only wanted sympathy through the back door describing their pranks as “the joke of the century”.

“I knew Fayose, he is a chameleon and I also knew that he must have devised all these arrangements to further assassinate my character and that was why I was meticulous by not speaking with the Press.

“Like I said yesterday (Monday), I won’t dignify that boy called Lere Layinka and I won’t join issues with him but the public should know that it was peace they claim they wanted and now that they have indicated their insincerity, it therefore means the battle continues until there shall be a victor and a vanquished.”

In the statement, Olayinka said Aluko’s reconciliation with Fayose is a vindication of his (Olayinka’s) claims that the former secretary of the party has no integrity. Olayinka, who claimed he was speaking in his personal capacity and not as a spokesperson to the governor, said: “Being the person that faced Aluko on television interviews where he told all the lies that he told against Governor Fayose and the people of Ekiti State, I am constrained to make my position known on this new development.

“Even though Governor Fayose, being someone with large heart may not be too happy that I am making this statement, but as one of the major dramatis personae in the whole saga, my conscience won’t allow me to just keep silent after all the pains and confusion caused by Aluko.

“I did say on Channels Television that giving the right situation or after Aluko must have concluded his scamming of the APC and its gullible leaders, he will return to Governor Fayose and recant everything that he had said.

“Today, I have been vindicated because Aluko has done just that and I wonder how he will feel when he comes face to face with the people that he has destroyed. I wonder how he will feel when he comes face to face with those fine military officers that he went to Kaduna to lie against and made them to lose their jobs.

“Also, I wonder how those who funded him will be feeling now, having failed to listen when I was consistently saying that they were being duped. I wonder how the Department of State Services (DSS) men who took Aluko’s lies and acted on them by invading the State House of Assembly will feel now that they have integrity problem because of what he (Aluko) made them to do.

“However, I salute my boss, Governor Fayose, for once again displaying his statesmanship because only a statesman with a large heart can hold the hands of someone like TKO Aluko after all that he did to pull down his government.”

Against this background, people are reading different meanings to the issue. Those who sympathise with Aluko, cite last week Wednesday’s (March 30) press conference in Ado Ekiti, where he declared that Fayose was afraid of his shadows over his revelations. On that day, Aluko’s supporters and government’s loyalists led by one of Fayose’s aide and a former local government chairman almost clashed at the Old Governor’s Office. Fayose’s supporters had stormed the venue of the press conference when they got wind of Aluko’s presence, but fortunately he had left the place.

Before Aluko recanted, the Ekiti PDP had reacted, dismissing the his purported reconciliation with the governor as a non-issue. In a press statement, the party rejected the idea of Aluko returning to the fold. According to its Publicity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo, the party said Aluko is not wanted in its fold and that whatever transpired between him and Fayose was a personal and would not alter the decision to expel him expulsion from the party.

Adebayo said: “As far as the PDP in Ekiti State was concerned, Aluko has been expelled and he remained expelled. After collaborating with the APC to cause the confusion in the state, I can say it categorically that Aluko is not welcomed in the PDP in Ekiti State.

“Perhaps, he is targeting the next convention of the party so that he can perpetrate another treacherous act, but I can tell Nigerians, especially our teeming members and supporters in Ekiti State that even though we respect our leader, Governor Fayose and we trust his judgment, a treacherous man like TKO Aluko is not welcomed in the PDP.”

The latest development on the issue has however thrown many observers off-balance. Many observers in Ekiti believe that the latest twist in the tale is part of a grand design by Fayose to ‘finish’ Aluko politically. Others say the whole episode has put a question mark on Aluko’s credibility. But, one thing is certain: Nigerians would hear more on this matter in the days to come.

Aluko and Fayose parted ways after the latter failed to appoint former as the Chief of Staff as previously agreed. Rather, Fayose appointed the former Director-General of his campaign organisation, Dipo Anisulowo, as his Chief of Staff. But, Aluko would have none of that; he accused the governor of abusing the party constitution by allegedly taking many decisions without carrying the State Working Committee (SWC) along.

The crisis between the two dramatic personae continued to fester with subsequent steps taken by the wily governor. Analysts are of the view that Fayose capitalised on the first opportunity that came along after the election to consolidate his hold on the party structure in the state. For instance, with the elevation of the former state Chairman, Makanjuola Ogundipe, to party’s Chairman in the Southwest, the state chapter was expected to fill the vacancy. Fayose did not beat about the bush, but utilised the chance to put one of his followers, Idowu Faleye, on the saddle, as the acting Chairman.

But, Aluko and other SWC members saw it an imposition. In May last year, Aluko and other SWC members loyal to him ‘forced’ Faleye to tender his resignation and appointed former Vice Chairman (Ekiti North), Tunde Olatunde, as the acting Chairman, a move which embarrassed Fayose.

In the midst of the leadership crisis, the tenancy of the state party secretariat expired and a dude cheque was issued to the owner of the building, Ropo Adesanya, who is a former chairman of the state chapter. Angered by the fact that the cheque bounced when he went to cash the money, Adesanya, who had since defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), dragged the PDP to an Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrate’s Court where the case is still pending.

Fayose later restored Faleye to his post and engineered the suspension of Aluko and three other SWC members; Olatunde, Mrs. Busola Oyebode (Women Leader) and Tunji Olanrewaju (Auditor). A disciplinary committee was later set up which recommended the expulsion of the quartet; a recommendation that was expressly carried out by the Faleye-led faction, backed by the Elders’ Committee.

Aluko and the SWC members loyal to him filed a suit at an Ado Ekiti High Court to challenge their expulsion, but the case is still pending. Aluko bid his time to fight back and the opportunity came with the inauguration of January 12 of a Military Board of Inquiry into the misconduct of soldiers, who allegedly participated in the famed Ekitigate.

He traveled to Kaduna, venue of the sitting, to give evidence before the Maj.-Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade-led panel and tendered documents on the involvement of officers and men of the Nigerian Army in the rigging of Ekiti governorship poll. His appearance before the panel sent shock waves back home as he reportedly tendered documents that revealed how soldiers gave ‘undue’ advantage to PDP at the poll.

As if that was not enough, Aluko shocked many Nigerians when he appeared on a live programme on Channels Television on Sunday, January 31, and made startling revelations on how the governorship poll was rigged in favour of Fayose. Before appearing on the programme, Aluko had earlier in the same day addressed reporters in Abuja on the issue and the news was already been in the public domain. But, the live programme was the icing of the cake.

Aluko alleged that former President Jonathan released a total sum of $37 million (about N4.7 billion) to influence Fayose’s victory both at the PDP primary election and the main governorship election. He also revealed that the party at a strategy meeting held in Aso Rock Villa convinced Jonathan to release a huge sum of money and order the military and other security agencies to cooperate with the PDP to ensure that the party wins the governorship poll.